Zhi Yue's voice, naturally penetrating and recognizable, accustomed to her imperious nature, never lowered. As everyone else expressed relief at being alive, her sour words silenced them, leaving them with complex emotions.
Bai Cha then noticed Cang Liu standing at the very edge of the crowd. It was understandable that Bai Cha overlooked him; Cang Liu's demeanor was exceptionally reserved. Perhaps only Gu Mingze, who was always by his side, truly understood him.
"Please make way," Bai Cha waved her hand, signaling everyone to spread out. Only then did they realize a girl was standing not far away.
The girl was exceptionally cute and beautiful. Her pink, inward-curling princess hairstyle shimmered like silk in the sunlight. She had a petite figure and wore a tight-fitting pink and white outfit that suited her perfectly. The style even seemed similar to Bai Cha's.
At this moment, the elf-like girl was drawing her bow, her energy intensifying. Even from a distance, everyone could feel the terrifying power emanating from the arrow.
With a final draw, she loosed the arrow. The pink projectile tore through the air, obliterating the vortex gate and the space within. The others finally understood: the one who had shattered the celestial screen and helped rescue them was her.
"Cha Cha~ I was so worried about you!" Freya, having loosed her arrow, rushed over without a glance at her work. She bounded into Bai Cha's arms like a rabbit. "You can't command me like that again. Even though I knew you'd be alright, it still pained me. Unless, of course, you wanted my Arrow of Love."
"That can be arranged, but you are quite direct." Bai Cha stood up, jingling the crystals in her hand, her mood lifted. "Come on, let's go eat."
Hearing this, Gu Mingze immediately became excited. He leaped up, slung an arm around Cang Liu's shoulders, and cheered, "Yay, we're back! Let's go for a big meal!"
"How about hot pot?" Su Qing rubbed his hands together, ready to go.
"Hot pot? What's that? We need meat! A big barbecue feast!" Lang Mo protested, but his father’s hand immediately slapped him on the head.
"Always thinking about meat, you'll get so fat," Lang Ya, who had been anxiously waiting outside to reunite with Bai Cha, sighed in relief. Seeing his son's foolishness, he couldn't help but get angry.
For a moment, the "Shadow" faction's boisterous chatter left no room for anyone else to interject, let alone the ignored Zhi Yue, whose face alternated between green and white as she stood by.
She was a pampered heiress, accustomed to being doted on since childhood. When had she ever been so disregarded? Since encountering the Shadow faction, she had been ignored repeatedly. This was a humiliation.
Seeing Gu Mingze pulling Cang Liu away, Zhi Yue grew anxious and grabbed Cang Liu's arm. "Cang Liu! Why are you associating with these people?"
"Those people? Old woman, speak clearly!" Before Cang Liu could respond, Gu Mingze objected. "If you like Cang Liu, why do you keep bringing us up? Did you contribute to saving everyone? The mess your family made almost cost us our lives, but you don't mention that! It's like you have a protective charm, so you're fearless, right?"
Gu Mingze was never one to hold back, which was why he had been dragged home by Gu Zitan so many times before. His words were equally unsparing.
His statement instantly changed everyone's expressions. If Gu Mingze hadn't reminded them, they might have forgotten the origin of the artificial spatial turbulence and barriers they had encountered. Bai Cha had even captured a hostage back then.
"That, that was just..." Zhi Yue was speechless. She had momentarily forgotten that incident and was now flushed with embarrassment at the reminder. "That was just an accident. Isolated incidents can't represent the majority! You can't paint everyone with the same brush."
She intended to continue her obstinate arguments, but the azure merman before her was already angered. His longsword sliced through space, and a condensed chill lunged towards Zhi Yue's face.
Cang Liu's attack this time was even more potent, rendering Zhi Yue immobile. A flash of gold, and Mo Ziye blocked Zhi Yue, looking displeasedly at Cang Liu. "Hey, speak properly. Why are you resorting to violence!"
"Hmph, claiming to like Miss, yet protecting those who insult the Shadow without hesitation," Cang Liu said coldly.
Seeing Mo Ziye appear, Cang Liu showed no surprise. He quietly retracted his sword, shaking his wrist with apparent disgust. "This operation had its share of ungrateful people and those who made snide remarks, but in the end, she still brought you all back. Why?"
Everyone fell silent, especially those who had spoken out earlier, their ears burning with shame.
"She had no obligation, yet she still saved you. Why do you take it for granted?" Cang Liu's voice was icy as he looked at Zhi Yue, his gaze more piercing than the deep sea. "And you, why do you point fingers at me? Because you are the one being protected, you have the luxury and leisure to make sarcastic remarks. But they are different. They proved to me through their actions that in contrast to you hypocrites, there are true guardians."
At least Cang Liu had witnessed it: these people hidden behind the shadows, who sacrificed everything for abstract concepts like the world and its people.
"And you, Mo Ziye," Cang Liu's voice lowered as he leaned close to Mo Ziye's ear, his tone soft and chilling. "You will never be worthy of her!"
Mo Ziye's heart turned cold, and he was bewildered. He believed these were just angry words from Cang Liu, but Cang Liu's resentful gaze made him feel as if he had truly harmed Bai Cha, freezing him in place.
No one moved, watching as the Shadow contingent, all clad in black, walked away, truly like shadows.
"Why waste words?" Bai Cha walked ahead, looking at Cang Liu beside her with a helpless sigh. "I don't need to prove anything."
"Yes," Cang Liu replied softly. He simply wanted more people to stand by her side, to at least avoid repeating past mistakes.
"However, thank you." Bai Cha's voice was light and carried a joyful chuckle. Cang Liu looked up, his gaze meeting her smiling, peach-blossom eyes.
It was like the surface of the sea at the moment the sun rises, countless golden scales leaping amidst the waves stirred by a gentle breeze, the dreams of every fish.
"But, Cha Cha, what are these pretty crystals you're holding?" Freya clung to Bai Cha, asking curiously. "I know we have to deal with the Dragon Mother's galaxy, but will these things really be useful?"
"Probably. After all, it wouldn't do anything useless," Bai Cha shrugged, then realized Freya was holding her tightly, so she stopped.
Although she was powerful, confronting an entire galaxy was pure fantasy. It all depended on whether the World Tree was reliable. If it wasn't, everyone would be doomed together.
"Then, you're really not going back?" Freya asked, her voice suddenly dropping an octave as she looked at Bai Cha.
Bai Cha's eyes narrowed, her eyelashes drooping.
This was a question she had been evading and avoiding. But since Freya was asking, Bai Cha hesitated for a moment before answering seriously.
"I promised you I wouldn't go back for revenge," Bai Cha's voice was so low that only Freya could hear it.
Freya's intention was clear: she wanted Bai Cha to return.
Bai Cha's intention was also clear: if she went back, it would be for revenge, and conflict would arise between them.
That day, knowing her father had no chance of survival, Bai Cha had brought the heavily injured Freya to Mo Yuntian and then intended to fight Astria to the death. She was only twelve years old then, still prone to emotional impulse, wanting only to vent her despair and rage.
But Bai Cha couldn't. Freya had held her back, begging Bai Cha not to destroy the last foundation of the balance beam, because it was her home, and also where they first met and grew up.
And Bai Cha couldn't destroy the foundation of the Light faction either, because the price of Mo Yuntian saving Freya was for Bai Cha to show leniency.
Therefore, she could do nothing.
"Master," Lucifer gently took Bai Cha's hand. This gesture had become increasingly familiar over time.
Lucifer's aura was peaceful, gentle, and steady, always managing to soothe Bai Cha's inner turmoil perfectly.
Bai Cha's house wasn't far from here. As soon as they arrived, everyone got busy.
Hot pot, barbecue grill, steamer, fruit wood, ingredients... Bai Cha often left early and returned late, and these people liked to spend time at her place. Bai Cha had given them the key, but she hadn't expected them to transform it so drastically.
Did these guys often have big gatherings at her place? Why was everything here?
Bai Cha was speechless. She had planned to book a restaurant, but now it seemed completely unnecessary. The ingredients were fresh, and the fish was still wriggling in the water. It seemed they had prepared everything in advance.
"Little Bai, the Big Boss is asking if you need to rest," Meng Qinghuan approached with a skewer, pushing her phone towards Bai Cha.
Looking at the carefully probing message from the Big Boss on the phone, Bai Cha snorted.
'Ask if I need to rest?' This meant 'yes, I have things to do.' Had he done something wrong that he was afraid to text her directly?
"He probably feels a bit guilty for giving you too many tasks, doesn't he?" Meng Qinghuan said gleefully. No one in their country, China, dared to challenge the Big Boss, except for Bai Cha, who seemed to make him a bit timid.
It was like this: if you were a company boss, and everyone else worked regular hours, but your secretary was exploited for twenty out of twenty-four hours, facing life and death situations, anyone would feel embarrassed.
Yet, almost every task in China was important. Given China's vast size, even with the recent population decline, carrying the weight of an entire country was a considerable burden for Bai Cha. Anyone else would have quit long ago, becoming worse than a dog, or even more exhausted than a mule.
[Your Little Meng Meng muah muah: Speak directly.]
Bai Cha replied using Meng Qinghuan's phone.
Meng Qinghuan's playful texting style suddenly changed, and the Big Boss immediately realized Bai Cha was using Meng Qinghuan's phone, which made him a bit awkward.
[Big Boss: I'll send the details to your email.]
Bai Cha was exasperated. She knew there was something, but anything that required an email instead of a simple text was usually a thousand-word, high-difficulty task.
"What is it now?" Meng Qinghuan leaned in. "Do they need our help?"
Bai Cha: "...If you don't want to go, just say so."
"Oh dear~ Little Bai, I'm so tired," Meng Qinghuan said, completely unashamed after her true intentions were exposed, grinning mischievously.
"The World Strongest Competition schedule, and the report submitted by the Mo family about the dragon king's rampage," Bai Cha opened her laptop and pushed it towards Meng Qinghuan. "Which one do you want to decline?"
The second item was the Mo family's calculation of potential locations for the emergence of evil dragons, based on various data. It was a small island underwater, said to have dangerously high energy readings, indicating either a top-tier evil dragon or a demonic dragon.
As for the first, at least half of the world's strongest competitors would have to attend. The more people who entered the top hundred, the higher the rankings, and the greater the rewards.
These were not ordinary rewards. They were rare energy sources, the most potent and high-quality rare energy sources discovered so far. Naturally, no country would have too many; it was a mad rush.